Adam Friedland Mogs Philip DeFranco

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Adam Friedland Mogs Philip DeFranco"

In Good Faith With Philip DeFranco
Host: Philip DeFranco
Guest: Adam Friedland
Release Date: February 16, 2026
Episode Theme:
A wide-ranging, deeply personal and frequently humorous conversation with comedian and talk show host Adam Friedland. The episode explores his comedic evolution from bit player to sincere interviewer, his immigrant family history, the rise of his own talk show, the dynamics of internet fame and interview technique, and reflects on cultural and generational issues.

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Main Theme Overview

This episode centers on Adam Friedland, charting his journey from the “third mic” of the infamous "Cometown" podcast to the self-aware, ironically sincere host of his own popular talk show. Throughout, Friedland and DeFranco analyze the blurred lines between irony, performance, and genuine engagement in comedy, broadcasting, and public life. The conversation dives into Friedland’s personal history, strategies as an interviewer, coping with internet toxicity, generational angst, and broader reflections on family, loss, and political upheaval.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Genesis of Adam’s Persona and Show

• Irony Becomes Reality:
  • Adam’s persona on "Cometown": Initially played as an inside joke; with time, sincerity crept in, transforming both his on-air persona and ambitions.
  • Quote:
    “There's something that happens when you commit to a joke long enough...the irony falls away and you're left standing in this thing...” (Narrator, 00:00)
• Transition to The Adam Friedland Show:
  • Nick Mullen’s pitch for Adam as an intentionally “ill-suited” talk show host.
  • The show’s success stemmed from Adam earnestly trying at something, after years of artful detachment.

2. Adolescence, Internet Culture & COVID Aftermath

• Gen Z’s Disenchantment:
  • Adam reflects on the isolation of youth today, especially after COVID—lack of agency manifests in extreme online behaviors ("looksmaxing", hammer-to-face videos).
  • Quote:
    “We don’t afford them that grace—that this must have been difficult...not see your friends for two years…” (Adam Friedland, 02:40–03:47)
• On “Identity Via Agency”:
  • Adam discusses how both gender-based identity movements and ‘looksmax’ subcultures are grasping for control in an unstable world.
• Galvanizing Grace, Not Judgment:
  • Calls for more empathy toward the complexities of online youth—“especially kids should be afforded the most empathy…” (Adam Friedland, 05:33)

3. Upbringing, Family, and Immigration

• Family Exodus from Apartheid South Africa:
  • Adam’s Jewish-Lithuanian roots, family’s accidental detour to South Africa, and the impact of his parents’ choice to uproot.
  • Learning American and “American Jew” culture through sports, TV, and movies.
• Humor as a Family Strategy:
  • Comedy helped relieve familial stress, especially during financial hardship and acculturation.
  • Quote:
    “I would just make jokes to get out of trouble. I would get in trouble.” (Adam, 17:34)
• On Creative Household:
  • Mom: classically trained actress. Dad: architect. Skepticism about comedy as a career.

4. Career Crossroads: Law vs. Comedy

• From GWU to Standup:
  • Adam nearly followed a law career; standup and ’the clown closet’ prevailed due to inertia, self-belief, and disillusionment with “serious” adult pathways.
  • Quote:
    “I came out of the closet as a clown to my parents...” (Adam, 18:11)

5. Personal Loss and the Value of Sincerity

• Impact of Mother’s Death:
  • Adam recounts losing his mother at the start of COVID lockdown and how it insulated him from the collective pandemic neurosis, forcing reflection on family, love, and grief.
  • “You’ll get used to someone not being there, but...the pain will never go away...it becomes part of you.” (Adam, 27:07)
• On Finding Meaning:
  • The experience of close-knit family and loss recalibrated what matters most for Adam.

6. Obsession with Politics, Internet, and Performing Identity

• Political Precociousness:
  • In 2000 Adam was the pubescent “loser” obsessed with elections, but now finds “liking politics” is a mainstream toxic obsession.
  • “Liking politics needs to go back to being for fucking losers.” (Adam, 33:01)
• Internet Degeneration:
  • The shift from silliness (“grape lady falls”) to cruelty, posturing, and outrage.
  • “The internet used to be a place where you see people falling and you laugh. And it was way better back then.” (Adam, 34:32)

7. Early Standup and “Cometown”

• DIY Roots:
  • Hosted punk venue “Subterranean A” in D.C.; produced offbeat and alt-comedy gigs, before moving to New York.
• The “Third Mic” and Bit Character:
  • On "Cometown," Adam was both “the bug” and the jesting foil. The show’s dynamic was unplanned; success brought both freedom and creative complacency.
  • (40:46–42:00)

8. Embracing Effort (“It’s Scary to Try”)

• Transitioning to Earnestness:
  • Adam’s talk show required dropping the ironic armor—“It’s really scary to try, but what you find is it’s way better to be trying and working hard than lazy.” (49:42)
• Learning to Interview:
  • Nick Mullen’s sage advice: “No, you’re like a really nice guy...you got to be more like that.”
  • Embracing vulnerability and emotional honesty, notably in the controversial Richie Torres interview.

9. Navigating Hot-Button Discourse & Emotional Interviews

• Richie Torres Interview (“The Moment”):
  • Adam describes the stress of discussing Israel/Gaza as a Jew with a platform. The personal risk—hurting family, losing control, public vulnerability—felt “miserable” at the time, but led to an outpouring of support.
  • Memorable Exchange (52:10–53:08):
    Adam: “I’m telling you…how painful it is for us to say...I disagree that this is a genocide. And that hurts to say that a Jew could do that…”
  • On Jewish identity, anti-Semitism, and the responsibility (and fear) of speaking up.

10. Interviewing Style: Power of Disarmament & Self-Deprecation

• Adam’s Superpower:
  • “Being underestimated is kind of a superpower.” (Phil, 61:14)
  • Adam’s default self-deprecation breaks down guest defenses, breeds candor.
  • He admits to only being starstruck by Jadakiss: “...the only person I was ever, like, really nervous for...” (62:35)
• On Platform Responsibility:
  • Skeptical of podcasters being mistaken for serious authorities, but affirms importance of authenticity and “grace”—especially when discussing controversial guests like Steiny (Nelk Boys) or political figures.
  • “Society should...Norm Macdonald has a quote...‘comics are modern-day philosophers and that's really offensive to modern-day philosophers’.” (79:54)

11. The “Entertainer-as-Philosopher” Trap

• Critique of Performer-Experts:
  • Adam finds it absurd when comedians pose as experts on complex policy or world affairs—he seeks human questions, not Beltway gotchas:
    “I try to be responsible...I'm not going to talk like as if I'm an expert on antitrust law.” (82:01)

12. Keeping Personal Life Separate

• On Engagement, Privacy, and Identity:
  • Adam maintains a wall between public persona and private life. His fiancée “barely knows” about his success.
  • “I don't like my personal life...I keep some separation...when they're online, everything is just being performed and it's repulsive.” (90:42–92:03)
• Public vs. Private Authenticity:
  • Adam suggests total transparency corrodes both authenticity and sanity.

13. Notable Interviews: Best and Worst

• Favorite Guests:
  • Richard Kind (“lovely”); Chet Hanks (“a blast”), among others who surprised with authenticity (93:54)
• On Humanizing Guests:
  • Key aim: See past public persona, reach the ‘real’ person.
• Least-Favorite?
  • Jokingly critiques Zoran Mamdani's post-show “Sharia law” (94:00+), but admits to ultimately appreciating even misunderstood guests.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–01:22 – Introduction: Adam Friedland’s evolution, from bit to sincerity
• 02:40–05:33 – Empathy for Gen Z and COVID’s social impact
• 11:06–15:10 – Family immigration stories, American acculturation
• 17:34–18:43 – Humor as coping mechanism during family stress
• 24:23–28:39 – Grieving his mother, reframing life and priorities
• 33:01–34:32 – Youth & politics, and the degeneration of internet culture
• 40:46–42:00 – “Cometown” origins and the dynamic of being “the bit”
• 49:42 – “Trying hard is scary, but worth it”—on sincere effort
• 52:10–53:09 – Richie Torres moment: the risks and weight of sincerity on air
• 61:14 – The superpower of being underestimated as an interviewer
• 79:54 – Comedy vs. intellectual authority, platform responsibility
• 90:09–92:03 – Separation between public persona and private life
• 93:54–95:32 – Adam’s favorite and least favorite guests; the importance of humanizing interviewees

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Notable Quotes (with Attribution and Timestamps)

• On transformation through effort (Adam):
  “It’s really scary to try, but what you find is that it’s way better to be trying and working hard than lazy.” (49:42)
• On the role of the internet (Adam):
  “The Internet used to be a place where you see people falling and you laugh. A lady is trying to stomp some grapes and you laugh. It was way better back then.” (34:32)
• On family and grief (Adam):
  “You'll get used to someone not being there, but...the pain will never go away. That was actually the best advice I ever got.” (27:07)
• On the value of authenticity (Adam):
  “I just want to...not look back on it and say I...didn't appreciate the fact that I could do this now...opportunities are very few and far between.” (44:12)
• On role models and “fraudulence” (Adam):
  “When people meet me, they think I’m from New York. But I’m a fraud...This is just based on romantic comedies about a schmuck that lives on the Upper West Side.” (13:52)
• On misplaced cultural anger (Adam):
  “Why are people mad at the Nelk Boys instead of...why is Benjamin Netanyahu going on the Full Send podcast to promote the genocide? That is the absurd thing.” (77:17)
• On comics as authorities (Adam quoting Norm Macdonald):
  “People say comics are modern-day philosophers, and that's really offensive to modern-day philosophers.” (79:54)

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Memorable Moments

• Adam’s riff on “Dominic the Donkey” and Italian-American identity (22:30–23:45)
• Admission that Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny was almost a career inspiration (21:22–21:45)
• Philip’s pointed question about the COVID-era impact of losing his mother, Adam’s vulnerable and thoughtful response (24:01–28:39)
• Breaking down on-air over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during the Richie Torres interview, captured and discussed with raw honesty (52:10–53:09)
• The Chris Cuomo/Dua Lipa “shit in my mouth” bit (70:43–72:13)
• Meta reflections on being a podcaster character in an Amazon original series (96:13)

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Overall Tone & Style

The episode is informal, self-deprecating, and quick-witted, reflective of both Adam’s and Philip’s comedic backgrounds. Adam oscillates between vulnerability and winking irony; earnestness and satire. The conversation is both playful—reveling in comic digression—and unflinchingly honest about pain, family, public pressure, and the absurdities of internet fame.

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For New Listeners

If you haven’t heard the episode, expect an authentic, at times poignant, at times raucously funny, long-form conversation. You’ll walk away with a greater sense of who Adam Friedland is—why he’s resonating in a cynical age, how he’s navigated the tightrope between being “the bit” and becoming “the guy,” and why sincerity is, in the end, much funnier (and riskier) than hiding behind the bit.

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[Ad reads, intros/outros, and promotional segments were excluded from this summary.]

Transcript

[Narrator]

There's something that happens when you commit to a joke long enough at some point, and no one can tell you exactly when the joke stops being a joke, the irony falls away and you're left standing in this thing that you were only pretending to do. And Adam Friedland knows this better than anyone. For years, he was the punching bag, the nebbish third mic on a podcast where his co host and his audience agreed on one thing. Adam was the bit. Fans called him a bug. He had to explain to his parents.

[Interviewer]

That this was how he made money.

[Narrator]

And when that show ended, his co creator, Nick Mullen, had an idea that was funny precisely because it shouldn't work. What if the least respected member of the group hosted a Dick Cavett style talk show? And so they built the set, the blue walls, the leather chair, the whole thing. And they put Adam in a blue suit. It was by every account a joke. And then Adam started trying. He sat across from Zoran Mamdani and Anthony Weiner and Dave Portnoy and a Nelk boy. And somewhere in the discomfort and the needling and the bits that go on maybe a beat too long, something shifted. The cosplay became craft. Where he sat with Congressman Richie Torres, tears forming in his eyes, pleading for a moment of human empathy about a place that he visited at 19 that changed the way that he viewed the world. It wasn't a bit. And this journey has led to the burger calling the show subversive and irresistibly funny. GQ calling him the millennial Jon Stewart. And he doesn't want either title. And while he leans into self deprecation, making himself small, there's a drive there. I mean, he once told gq, it's really scary to try, but what you find is that it's way better to be trying and working hard than lazy. So today I sit with a comedian who stumbled into sincerity and found out it suited him. Adam Friedland. Let's have a conversation in good faith.

[Interviewer]

How are you doing, Adam?

[Adam Friedland]

Fine. Good. I'm in my apartment. I told the staff I'm working from home today. I have a big interview tomorrow that I'm prepping for that. It's an Internet. When is this coming out?

[Interviewer]

This will come out Monday.

[Adam Friedland]

Okay, so it's. Well, it'll be coming out. Who cares? It's with the looksmaxer clavicular.

[Interviewer]

Ah, okay. So you understand if like you coming in 10 minutes late, you were time mogging me.

[Adam Friedland]

I was, Yes, I was schedule maxing you. I hate how everything feel like I've hurt my head. I feel like I have a traumatic brain injury.

[Interviewer]

I think from the research.

[Adam Friedland]

Yes. Yeah. I think a lot of times I'm so. I'm quite offline. I watch. I look at funny videos on Instagram reels.

[Interviewer]

That's.

[Adam Friedland]

That's my Internet that I permit myself and I'm on and I send them to my friends. It's the last like safe place on the Internet where things are fun, man.

[Interviewer]

The problem with him is someone sent me a video and then my whole feed became like, just dudes hitting themselves in the face with hammers.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And people cheering it on. And I was like, is this, is this New Republicans? I didn't expect New Republicans to be hammers to face.

[Adam Friedland]

I don't know what it is. I don't know. I'm trying to figure out how it's a partisan thing. I don't. I, I think that, that. Yeah, I, I think it's more of an in. Indication of like youth, like culture. I think a lot of kids, probably, we speak about them in a pretty. Let me back up. It's this guy who's a look smacker. I'm quite offline, so a lot of the time I do quite. I, I have a show. I've talked about, the Adam Friedler show. You've probably introd it. I do like pretty intensive research. So I think my advantage each time I have a guest is that I'm kind of an outsider. So, like, people take these things very seriously and get very upset about things that I, I don't really. I'm not even aware of. So it kind of gives me an objectivity probably where I'm like. But to me, it's a little bit more of an indication of just like, like kids had a pretty crappy world that they were presented with. A lot of them had to stay home with their parents for two years. And that would have sucked if I had to do that when I was a kid. It's not a non indictment of the lockdown itself, but it's just like we don't afford them that grace. That this must have been difficult and to not see your friends for two years and not socialize.

[Interviewer]

So you have to give them enough grace to hit themselves in the face with hammers.

[Adam Friedland]

And I think, yeah, I think that one way that they can have some agency over anything because they're not afforded even a better future or promise of a better future is by identity, you know, And I think a lot of it is focused on trans kids. But this is a idealized version of masculinity. So this is about elongating your jaw shape and your, your facial bone structure. But what really, what it is, is kind of this is one way I could have agency over anything. And that's my. Yeah, I think that, that we don't really talk about kids in that context of like a lot of them went through a traumatic experience.

[Interviewer]

And you're given, you're given a lot of grace for behavior as far as like clavicular, being genuinely, I think, psychotic. Whether you're looking from an outside super.

[Adam Friedland]

You're 13 and you're. Listen, Covid didn't invent the phone, but there was only the phone. And in general, I think there was a, I've talked about this before, but I think there was some sort of trauma that was experienced.

[Interviewer]

Like, we all try to, we all tried to like move past. We don't talk about it. It's crazy. It definitely impacted a lot of kids. I, I, I have kids. I saw different versions of it.

[Adam Friedland]

The only way we talk about it is Fauci vaccine.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

And it's the Democrats, Republicans, you know, red SAP. It's, it's hyper partisan. You know, personally, on a personal note, not to start the show on a bummer, but like, I know a lot of people that overdosed since then, that have committed suicide since then. And I just think that there isn't a kind of an, a broader conversation in terms of like cultural discourse about like just that people kind of. And in general, if you, I'm cutting myself off. But in general, if you look at just everything nowadays, it's just everyone's gone crazy, you know, And I mean, independent of kids, but like, especially kids should be afforded the most empathy. And you know, that was an individual that was 13 years old and he was looking at pictures and he's like, I'm gonna be the hottest guy, you know?

[Interviewer]

Yeah, well, you know what? Maybe, maybe through this conversation we'll get to maybe dissect how. Why maybe you're so open minded about like the clavicularization of the, the youth today.

[Adam Friedland]

I think it's batshit. I think I'm like, bro, you're a guy. You could, we could, we could, we could be ugly. We could have. I mean, George Costanza was on days with elevens. Did you watch Seinfeld? I mean, like, like, yeah, but I.

[Interviewer]

Mean, we are, we are in a place also where we're at a place where everything's like so politically based that I saw a number of people on the left that Were like, hey, the behavior seems psychotic. But he said he wouldn't vote for J.D. vance because apparently Newsom's a chad. So maybe, maybe we embrace this guy.

[Adam Friedland]

That take is a similar take to what I've had since Carter. I think the cooler guys always won. I think. Think about it like the one time when Biden won, the first time he put out this video where he's like, this is my Corvette. And I love American steel, American muscle. And I just was like, he's gonna win this time.

[Interviewer]

Everyone's.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

And we are a very. Yeah, no, we are a very looksus nation, like 100%. And vibes obviously play a big part. But I'm gonna. I'm gonna. I'm gonna start with a question that actually made me kind of seeing the answer. It's okay.

[Adam Friedland]

I've hijacked this.

[Interviewer]

I knew that it was gonna possibly happen, so it's fine.

[Adam Friedland]

That's how I go.

[Interviewer]

I wanna. Where I wanna start is with a question before we get into specifically your past is with you now. Do you feel more comfort when you are the interviewer rather than the interviewee because you're prepped? Or do you feel like, oh, there's a lot more stress cause you have the job.

[Adam Friedland]

Comfort? I don't know. I have no shame.

[Interviewer]

Are you just kind of like waiting for life crap?

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. For the 10 years now, talking in a freaking microphone. Can I say four letter words on this?

[Interviewer]

You can say anything you want. Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

We don't care.

[Adam Friedland]

I don't know. I've been. I was podcasting for. For Ugly Men for a long time. I was on a. You know, like, whatever.

[Interviewer]

I mean. Yeah, no, I know, I know. I. I super looked into it and we're gonna go. We'll touch a little bit.

[Adam Friedland]

Don't. We'll touch everything you hear. I was a patsy. I was a.

[Interviewer]

We'll touch it. We'll touch a little bit in the cometown. But I don't want. I don't. I. I feel like.

[Adam Friedland]

But in general, like, I'm probably better at being interviewed because I just blab.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

You know, I. I tend to get very excited. So, like, you know, it's like sometimes, like, I'm like. What's cool about interviewing, though, is that it's not a natural form of communication because you have a roadmap in mind. And I have, like. I have, like, kind of central tenets that I'm trying to hit when I'm doing it, and I have a flow of conversation. And the cool thing about it is that when things, like, you know, kind of things go off track is in. In your head in real time, like, figuring out ways to get it back to the place you want to go and then kind of adjusting. Like, it's like a puzzle in a lot of ways. And then, like, a lot of times, like, oh, yeah, that. That question is no longer relevant. So you have to have, like, kind of a very, like, linear kind of concept of where it's headed. And then you have to have some allowance for it to meander, and then you have to figure out in real time, ways to get it back. So that's neat. I don't know. I just yap, though. So. Yeah. Comfortable.

[Interviewer]

I was interested because I get there are different ways I can get stressed out about it, because I'm a big believer in an interview, it could be with anyone. It could be the janitor. It could be the biggest star in the world. Everything kind of lands on the interviewer because it's your job to make it something that people would actually want to consume. But then also, when I'm being interviewed, I'm thinking two things. One thing that I don't think you're thinking about, which is I'm like, okay, I don't want to put my foot in my mouth in a way that is, like, not going to. Yeah, you just roll with it. And I love that. I love that. And then two, I'm like, I care so much about anyone wasting their time with me that I'm like, it needs to be good. But I want to make this about you, because where I want to start is with your family. Right? Because I need to know with you, when you say things, there's sometimes there's, like, sarcasm. Sometimes you're saying things legitimately. And I was like, okay, I need to ask him about this. Your family story does read, like, a bit like a novel, right? Your father gets a draft notice to fight Angola for the apartheid South African army. He says no. He packs up the family. He leaves.

[Narrator]

Has he ever actually.

[Interviewer]

Has he talked to you about what that decision cost him, what he was thinking, what he left behind?

[Adam Friedland]

Uh, you know, there's a. Another aspect is that they're. Both of them had really annoying Jewish families. So that was another benefit to getting out of Dodge.

[Interviewer]

But, I mean, have you had that? Like, I. I feel like I didn't.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, I talk a lot.

[Interviewer]

We were like, okay, yeah, I talk.

[Adam Friedland]

A lot about it with my dad. I don't know. It. It made a big impression because we moved back for a year when I was a kid. So I was born in LA and my, my parents moved to LA in 82 and my dad got really into American sports to have something like cultural to share with with his kids, you know, like. And so I got. He had like the Showtime, Lakers and the Dodgers, Fernando. And I don't know if you're a sports guy. And so like, you know, that was kind of like a cultural element that we shared. But then I think in 91, my dad was an architect, so. So he was developing houses in the San Fernando Valley and the savings and loan Crisis hit in 91 and just wiped out everything in the real estate in Southern California. So we still had some because we couldn't, we had. They left very abruptly. So they still had some money in South Africa. So we moved back for a year. And I remember that was after Mandela had gotten out. And so for me, like Nelson Mandela was like a.

[Interviewer]

He likes, he worshiped him, right?

[Adam Friedland]

Well, like when, when you write like who's your hero Essay in elementary school, like I thought he was like, well, it's cool because he's like South African. And I thought that my parents thought he was like really incredible, like an incredible person. And he like, he's went and spoke at like my family's synagogue in Cape Town. And he was like, tell you their whole generation left, all the grandmas stayed. And he was like, tell your kids to come back. Cuz we need them to build this like our new country. We need everyone, you know. And that made like a big impression. I was like, this guy is like a really good like. So I remember I like learned about him and it was like, it made a big impression on me. But yeah, yeah. I mean like, I think having immigrant parents, you kind of have to learn American culture and then kind of communicate it back to them. Like, thankfully my parents spoke English. I mean that's like, you know, it wasn't like they were. And you know, like, you know, they had university degrees. They weren't like coming here to like, you know, you know, subsist like you know, making hotel beds or something. It was, it was a different type of immigration. I suppose it was, it was easier. We were white, you know, like that's, that's another thing that made it easier. But on the other hand, like, you know, it's just like a lot of American culture. Like you kind of like I had to like learn American culture. I learned American Jew, right? I learned, I learned, I learned it from movies. I learned it like I would just watch Seinfeld and, like, like, I can. When people meet me, they think I'm from New York. Right. But I'm a fraud. I mean, I'm just. I'm a guy that made himself. I. I'm a huckster. I, I. This is just based on romantic comedies about a schmuck that lives on the Upper west side and, you know, just like a charismatic, precocious, you know, blonde girl.

[Interviewer]

Think of yourself as a character.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Do you think of yourself as a character? No.

[Adam Friedland]

No. But, like, you know, that's When I see that. When I saw that, you know, I was like, oh, this is like, what, you know, American Jew is kind of. You could be funny and, like, you could be, like, precocious. It's really just. But, like, you know, I had to communicate this over to my parents, and then kind of, you know, sports was one thing that I kind of shared with my dad. And that's, like, kind of why I've always, like, fallen and been interested in sports. And now he can't take. I mean, where are you from? Are you from?

[Interviewer]

I'm actually originally from New York.

[Adam Friedland]

From New York, okay. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

To the Bronx.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. My dad, during the last World Series, had to turn the TV off, like, 25 times in Game 7 because, like, or he. He thought he was gonna have a heart attack because of the Dodgers, you know, but, like, it's. Yeah, it's so funny hearing a South African man being like, I can't. I can't take this at him. He's like, they're gonna kill him. So.

[Interviewer]

But with South Africa. Okay, is this true? Your family was trying to get to Ellis island, but then ended up in South Africa because they got on the wrong boat? Or is that a joke?

[Adam Friedland]

It's the family legend. I. But, like, it, it can't. I mean, yeah, I mean, we're Lithuanian Jews. The South African Jewish population was primarily lit, they're called.

[Interviewer]

Okay.

[Adam Friedland]

And those boys were dirt poor. Them boys were. Them boys were from. Them boys were from the sticks. I really imagine, like, it must have been crazy for them, like, my Russian ancestors, because it was all, like, one area of settlement. Like, it was called the Pale of Settlement. So it was like Lithuania, Belarus, all the way down to Ukraine. I mean, they were not very well educated people, but, like, getting off on a boat in Africa, like, they didn't have color photography. They didn't have. There were movies they didn't like. They probably thought that they were. It must have been like seeing Avatar. It must have been like, Like Pandora. They were like, what the fuck is that? They're. They're from a place. I imagine where they came from was black and white. I imagine they didn't even have color. I imagine it was like the. Like Pleasantville, except very unpleasant. They came from Unpleasantville, which was the shtetl in Lithuania, where they were like something. The Cossacks continuously got drunk and tried to, like, cut their heads off with swords. And they're like, another. More of this. Again with the swords.

[Interviewer]

Wait, I gotta ask this then. Okay, because. Because, I mean, I always see you cracking jokes constantly. Obviously, you're a comedian first, but, I mean, so your. Your mom was a classically trained actor. Actress. Your dad.

[Adam Friedland]

Where is this?

[Interviewer]

An architect.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Okay.

[Interviewer]

Right. So seemingly, right, you have a house full of, like, creative, expressive people. I would guess. You can let me know if I'm wrong, but were they always kind of supportive of your comedy career, or do they kind of see it as, like, less so? Are you just kind of like this funny kid that said things sometimes?

[Adam Friedland]

Well, it was a career when I was a kid. I was just annoying. No, I mean, like, when I was a kid, I would just. I would just make jokes to get out of trouble. I would get in trouble.

[Interviewer]

I mean, hey, that works. When my kids crack jokes, I'm like, okay.

[Adam Friedland]

I think a lot of the time, too. Like, you know, like, in America, like, you know, there's like, my. When you. When a family is stressed out about money, it. It becomes very, you know, consumes you. There's a lot of tension. Yeah. And, you know, I would crack jokes to break the tension, I think. And. And then beyond that.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

When I said I wanted to be a comedian, they were like, what the fuck are you talking about, Adam? I mean, in retrospect, it's ridiculous. And to tell your. Like, I got into law school. I was. I was about to go to law school, and then I was like, I'm a clown. I came out of the closet as a clown to my parents, and they were like, what are you doing? You're like an idiot. In reality, it's a. It's one of the stupidest career fields to go into, and I got tremendously lucky. And.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, well, I gotta ask you on that. I gotta ask that.

[Narrator]

Right?

[Interviewer]

Because for me, I'm working backwards. I became familiar and a fan of Adam Friedland with the second season of your show. Right. And so then I worked all the way back from. From that, and I was like, okay, so this guy's gone through not only a professional evolution, but it seems Like a personal evolution, because, like, you went. You went to GW as a Middle Eastern studies major, planning to go to law school, right?

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

So it's a very specific and serious trajectory. What derailed it. Was there a specific moment where you were like, I'm not going to be a lawyer. Lawyer?

[Adam Friedland]

I think I was probably just too lazy to go to law school. I think I. I told myself that God put me on this earth to. For my comedy. Like, it's just like, I was. I was full of. I was like, you know, entitled little prick. You know, I. I don't know. Like, but in. In reality, like, you know, I. I found through doing the talk show that we did. But you'll get to this. I'm sure. I'm getting ahead of you. But, like, we did this podcast prior to it, and what the show was, was like, we never planned out what we were gonna say. It was just like, we kind of just hit record. And then, you know, the presentation, it was, you know, kind of ironic, kind of the. The humor. So what that did was kind of like, well, if you don't like it, well, then we weren't even trying. Right. You know, like, there was committing myself to, like, trying really hard at the talk show is. It's a scary thing to do because you could find out that you have no talent whatsoever, and then.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, I mean, that. Yeah, that would be my ultimate fear. Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

And if people. And then if people say that you. You work really hard at something and people say it sucks that it actually hurts.

[Interviewer]

Was that always something that your parents pushed, that they. They wanted you to be a lawyer, or did you come to that conclusion early on? Like, because I know for my parents, they're like, doctor, doctor, doctor. And then I went to college and I was like, oh, I'm a idiot. This is not for me.

[Adam Friedland]

I think probably they were like, get a. You know, don't struggle, you know, like, get a good job. You know, which is like, I think a very normal thing for a parent, you know, especially, like, people from a different country, they're like, yeah, you know, you got America's. Like, can. Can, you know, be difficult sometimes? And, like, you know that that's a reasonable thing. But, like, yeah, no, I. I saw, like, movies, and I saw, like, guys giving, like, really good closing arguments. And I thought it was all like. I thought it was all like. And I am. And I. I will not, you know. You know, it's just like, yeah, it.

[Interviewer]

Wasn'T my cousin Vinnie. That's not what, like, set it Off.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, that was my, that was, that was, that made a huge impression on me.

[Interviewer]

For like different reasons.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. The one piece that she, Marisa Tomei in this, in. When they're in the woods, she's wearing that. I remember I was like five. I was like, lawyer.

[Interviewer]

Got it.

[Adam Friedland]

That's what law is. You get a, you get Mona Lisa veto. I was like that. Wow. Yeah. Yeah, that probably is actually, Phil, I think you just connect with me. I think that that's what we're doing. I think it was Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny. Made me think that.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

If I, I could get myself a loud mouth. But she knows automotive mechanics.

[Interviewer]

Gotta go.

[Adam Friedland]

You're Italian yourself.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Do you understand? Like, did that speak to you, that film?

[Interviewer]

Well, a lot of, a lot of stuff early on did. And then I feel like I've just, I, I. When you talk about being a fraud, I feel like a fraud. As an Italian. I don't know a single word. The rest of my family does, except for my half sister.

[Adam Friedland]

Do you have Sunday dinner?

[Interviewer]

No, but that's also because I don't have my family here. I'm trying to get them to move to Georgia. But no.

[Adam Friedland]

Do the feast of the seven fishes on Christmas?

[Interviewer]

No. So another reason I feel like a fraud. I talked to another Italian person. They're like, you don't do that. And I was like, no, I'm like. We were like, we were like very light New York Italians. Like, we went, we like went to church once a week. We did some of the things I knew. Dominic, Dominic the donkey, the song. But that's it.

[Adam Friedland]

I don't even know what that is. Is it a good.

[Interviewer]

Oh, I mean, it's, it's the, the pinnacle of being Italian. It's, it's almost up there with defending Christopher Columbus statues. Say what?

[Adam Friedland]

I'm giving us a little bit.

[Interviewer]

Oh, no, no, no. We'll do, we'll do that after because then I got to go.

[Narrator]

He ha hee haw.

[Interviewer]

Like that sort of thing.

[Adam Friedland]

I'm thinking about this the rest of the time.

[Interviewer]

Time. Oh, I don't understand.

[Adam Friedland]

Donkey. Donkey.

[Interviewer]

Oh, it's a song. There's. I don't know, I don't know much of the history about it, but. Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Is he, is he connected to Christmas? Oh, okay.

[Interviewer]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He came out the boat.

[Adam Friedland]

Cuz. It could be like a, it could be like a. Yeah, it could be like an ugly mafioso that's like on trial for rico.

[Interviewer]

Oh, no, it's not anything Cool.

[Adam Friedland]

Like, yeah. Dominic the donkey. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

It is the head of the Christmas song. It's the Christmas sorry I played for my kids.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, okay. It's not. Yeah. It's not a guy that was on.

[Interviewer]

Trial for he killed people by using a donkey?

[Adam Friedland]

No, no, no. He was just ugly. They called him the donkey. Yeah. Yeah, I think probably, yeah.

[Interviewer]

Adam, I'm gonna ask you a question here in a second and you can tell me to go fuck myself and cut it.

[Adam Friedland]

Go fuck it.

[Interviewer]

So I'm just gonna preface that. Okay. Thank you. Because it's personal. You posted publicly in 2021 about your mom passing away. And I don't want to pry to a place that you're not comfortable with, but I do want to ask, how did losing her change you? Like, did it reshape anything in your life or even what you're thinking of doing in your career?

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, no, she passed away 2020.

[Interviewer]

Okay.

[Adam Friedland]

Well, actually, going back to the COVID thing we were talking about, I do feel like I kind of. My mom went into hospice and then I took a. I got a one way ticket to back home. I remember it was like, Covid was just. It was like. And so I was like, I, I can't be next to people on the plane, so I bought like a first class ticket and there were three people on the flight, so I didn't need. I just, I was like, I can't be. I need a bigger seat. People didn't know, like. And New York locked down two days after I got there. So the first three months I was with my family and we were kind of like, in a way, like, I was dealing with that. So it was more so that I was with my family for that. Then we were in lockdown, if that makes any sense. Yeah. And in a lot of ways, I feel insulated from that, like, initial, like, everyone going kind of batty because I was like, I had a purpose for being there. It's kind of like I. Yeah, we had to wear a mask at Costco or something, but, like, more so it was about, like, being with my family during that period. So it was like kind of that going back to the COVID thing, I feel like, kind of like insulated from. From that in a strange way.

[Narrator]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

It's very interesting that it was almost like the secondary thing, obviously. The secondary thing in your life at that time.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I, I, it, it's straight. Yeah. I feel lucky. In fact, in a lot of ways, in an ironic way. No, it changed. It changes everything.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. And you said that she's. She's the. The funniest person you ever met. I mean, do you think that you got your sense of human humor from her?

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Her side of the. My dad's side of the family are the histrionics. My mom's side of the family are the depressives. And the depressives are. They're funny. I mean, they're like. And it's dark humor, and they love talking. No, my mom. My mom and I were, like, we had, like, we. I would, like, be making her. Her and I would make each other laugh, and then, like, we'd be at the dinner table. We had, like, a language, the two of us. We had very. We had a shared sense of humor and making her laugh. I loved making her laugh because she couldn't stop once she started laughing. Like, she'd be like, stop. Like, I'm gonna pee. I'm gonna, like, stop it, Adam. Like, you know, it's like, we're. We're twins. I loved her. When you find out. Yeah, I mean, I think. I mean, I'll be honest about it. Like, I. I don't think that I ever, like, it's the one thing that made. I had a friend text me afterwards. He said. He said, you'll get used to someone not being there, but you won't get used to. You'll never. The pain will never go away. And that was actually the best advice I ever got because it's just, like, it becomes part of you after you lose parent, and you're never prepared for it. And. But it was the first time I kind of, you know, it. It defines life in a different way. I, I think I never really. It made sense to me that God, like, from a young age, and that sucked. Right? I think I was. I asked my dad once at dinner. I was like, wow, say this publicly as well. I was like, so if there's no heaven, then it's just over forever. It's not even like, just. You're looking at black. It's just nothing. And he's like, yeah, so it's nothing, pretty much, if it's. There's no heaven. And I was like, that's why people believe in heaven, right? Because it's so sad. And. And I'm like, I, I. I was like, 8 or something, and I remember, like, the exact place I was at at the dinner table. I was, like, looking at the leg. We have this, like, red table with a glass top, and I remember staring at the, like, the metal the red, it was very. They bought it in the 80s. This. The dining room table, I think at the end with my mom. You see, kind of that's the point that you can kind of. It's a way of contextualizing life is like, you know, at the end of the day, like, what matters is that, you know, having love and giving love.

[Narrator]

Whoo.

[Adam Friedland]

I know. I'm a very. This is very. I mean, like. And the fact that we were there, you know, my parents had very close family friends, right. Who were, like, wanted to be there for the family. And we're, like, running meals to the house and stuff. At a certain point, we were like, just like, you don't have to. And we had family members who drove us nuts, and some people didn't talk for decades, and we wanted them there. And it wasn't, like, a conscious decision. It was just something that was what felt. Was what felt right. And, yeah, it's just it. It provided a context for, like, what kind of. Oh, yeah, this is the point, kind of. And this is something you could devote yourself to. So it's like, you know, the people that, you know, it. It really made me appreciate family in a way that I. I never had. And. And, yeah, it was like a. It changed. I mean, like, gave me a context for everything, I think, probably.

[Interviewer]

And.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. No, no. Thank you for sharing that.

[Narrator]

I'll get you right back to the.

[Interviewer]

Podcast in just a minute.

[Narrator]

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[Interviewer]

Like he definitely hacks for fun.

[Narrator]

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[Adam Friedland]

Genuinely speaking, I'm very happy to say that to you. I don't know if I've ever kind of articulated that publicly. But yeah, I mean it, it was a. Yeah, that, that was a formative moment for me.

[Interviewer]

You know, just so you know, I am gonna, I'm gonna have one of the editors do a hype cut of you walking away after like just a question. Really build up.

[Adam Friedland]

No, no, you really. This is Zero Dark Thirty, bro.

[Interviewer]

No, no, no, no.

[Adam Friedland]

You're about to find Bin Laden. That's what it is.

[Interviewer]

But bin Laden is actually the, the pain you experience as a child because you said that you, you were bullied in school for your political opinions, which I thought was wild because you said that it included your opinions about opposing the outcome of the 2000 election, which I see like around my boys and from middle school and up and stuff like that. There are kids that are engaged in politics that felt non existent to me around 2000. So I want to ask you, what kind of kid in 2000 is taking political stances?

[Narrator]

Right.

[Interviewer]

I think you were 13. And also, what does that cost you socially or does it actually bring people in?

[Adam Friedland]

I, I kind of hyped that. I mean I had friends, but. But like, yeah, it was late for lame asses. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

To care about lame asses.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, it was, it was lame. Yeah. It wasn't cool. I, I thought I was a lawyer already. Right? And I was like, I remember on 9 11, I was like, it's probably the Al Qaeda network of terror they who attacked the USS Cole. And I was like, just like, what an awful guy. Just what a stupid idiot. Like, but it's flipped now.

[Interviewer]

Now, now it's like, I think it's because bad people have gotten like, it trickles down into the kids. But it's like there's certain places where it's very toxic and it's very active. Even at like an almost elementary school level.

[Adam Friedland]

No liking politics needs to go back to being for fucking losers. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

It needs to Be cringe. I mean, but also it can't because everything that's the thing that sucks is I hate. I was like, I was, I was a. I was a less evolved person.

[Narrator]

But I was a much happier person.

[Interviewer]

When I got to just bullshit about pop culture. Not talking about like the downfall of the fucking country usually.

[Adam Friedland]

I mean, the thing is you're not supposed to discuss race or religion at dinner, right? Isn't that like the. Is that the rule traditionally, like, those are the taboo subjects in polite.

[Interviewer]

I would almost. I would have based off of my upbringing, I would have almost rathered that was a topic.

[Adam Friedland]

I mean, like my family, we would yell at each other about Paul. I mean, it was like kind of like our family. Like my dad would, you know, like we would just. I. I was really into politics and like. Yeah, that's why I went to college in D.C. to. But yeah, it wasn't cool to like it. I wasn't doing it because like I was getting likes on Tick tock for being like, you know, doing a interpretive dance about.

[Interviewer]

There is, there is a performative element to every aspect of it now. Yeah, yeah, that is true.

[Adam Friedland]

I think it's an aspect of how the phone is driven everyone insane. They think that they should be ashamed of themselves.

[Interviewer]

I mean, this is the thing that I agree with you on, that the phone has ruined us. It was, it was. It used to be this thing where it was like guys slipped on ice. Now we get that of an ice agent slipping on ice and we get a little joy so that it like makes us forget that they're murdering people in the streets. But yeah, I get you.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. It used to be the Internet used to be a place where you see people falling and you laugh. A lady is trying to stomp some grapes and you laugh. And it was way better back then. I miss when it was funny.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, no, I do. I want to. I want to get closer and closer to you performing. But before that, I guess you also, you worked as a paralegal at Vox Media for two and a half months. And that stood out to me not because you worked for Vox Media, but that you work someone somewhere for two and a half months. And so I have to ask, what.

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, this is. That's a great one. How did you find that? What. What kind of research are you doing?

[Narrator]

Who knows?

[Adam Friedland]

Oh, that. Okay. I was going through a breakup and I was writing that email that was gonna just this. And that is, that is the point. And I was like redrafting it. I was horrible. I was Losing my mind. It's the one time I've been fired from a job.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, fired for writing a breakup note. Wait, say what?

[Adam Friedland]

No, I wasn't working.

[Narrator]

Oh.

[Adam Friedland]

I was like. I was at my laptop. I was like, yeah. You know, and that was just like, oh, maybe this. The intro paragraph should be third. Yeah, no, no, I was a bad employee probably. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Okay. So that's all it was.

[Narrator]

Okay.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, no, I got into law school and I was a paralegal before that. And the plan was I took the lsat, I was going to go to law school, and then I started doing stand up, and then I kept deferring going to law school. And then ultimately when I got that job at vox, I was going to move to New York. And so right before I moved to New York, I'd gotten fired. So I came here with no job and to. To do comedy because you kind of have to move to LA or New York at a certain point. So I started staying up in D.C. after college and kind of like in a. In a, like a tertiary market, like, you know, I was the. I was like a glass. The glasses nebbish guy. And then I moved to New York and there were just 50, 000 me's who had the same argument with their parents about law school. You know, they were named Adam Friedland, probably.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Like.

[Interviewer]

But I do want to. I want to talk a little bit more.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Oh, no.

[Interviewer]

About the DC years. Right. Because you. You ran a DIY punk venue called. Is it Subterranean A. In DC for. For over two years.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

How do you get into that? Because is it.

[Narrator]

Is that comedy adjacent or how does that work?

[Adam Friedland]

I had this like, big loft apartment thing, and then my friends all after college were like, starting like, music labels and so. So, yeah, me and my friend Phil, we're living there, and then we booked a show there, and then we kept booking shows for like two years. And then it was like, yeah, it was fun. We had some comedy shows there. But.

[Interviewer]

Well, because. Yeah, you did what? Like, more alternative performance piece comedy in dc, Right. So I. I also thought I was.

[Adam Friedland]

I just didn't know what the. I was doing. Like, like, you're, like, you're. And when you're starting stand up, you're just throwing spaghetti at the wall. You're kind of just trying to figure out what was funny about you, kind of. And, like, what, like, made your friends laugh, you know, like, but does that.

[Interviewer]

Did you find that the scene there worked because it was so alt and so different from what you might Think of that area or was that. Actually, it was like, just a. You were trying to get water in the desert.

[Adam Friedland]

There was a. I mean, there was like. There was a club in Northern Virginia and there was one in D.C. and then kind of. It, like the D.C. comedy scene kind of like while we were doing it got a lot bigger and I think. But it was like, you know, I. Like, I. I was. I was just. I was figuring out how to do standup basically when I was starting there. And then. Yeah. And then I ultimately, you know, moved to New York. It was. There wasn't really so much of a. Like. Like local shows, and I think we started a bunch of. And then I started one that I do still here in New York, that I named Funny Moms. I thought it was funny.

[Interviewer]

Is that connected to how you got named Best of DC and like the Washington City Paper, or is that separate?

[Adam Friedland]

I think. Did I?

[Interviewer]

Yeah. Well, you got. You got that. And I was. I was interested.

[Adam Friedland]

What did they say?

[Interviewer]

I was wondering.

[Adam Friedland]

I was the best guy.

[Interviewer]

They said, super good guy. Best guy ever. Yeah. They gave you, like, the Trump FIFA award. They said, we just made this up for you.

[Adam Friedland]

Amazing.

[Interviewer]

No, but at that point in your career, right, when you get. It's. It's a paper back then, so it's mainstream validation. Like, does that feel good or does it almost end up being like a warning sign that it's like, this is. This is softening? Or like, maybe. Maybe I'm not like, where I need to be. If you're kind of doing that alt.

[Adam Friedland]

Scene, I literally don't even remember.

[Interviewer]

You don't know this happening.

[Adam Friedland]

But. No, I mean, I think it was like. Was it all. I mean, I think it was. We were just booking our own shows.

[Interviewer]

Like, I think I'm saying alt is in more like, less mainstream. It's like more of what you see nowadays of just everyone trying different shit.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, I think more so. It was just like we were producing shows independently. I don't think it was like, not at the comedy clubs. Like, we were doing them at bars and stuff and like, different spaces. But, like, I think more so, like. Yeah, like, at a certain point I'm like, you're gonna have to make a career of it, so you have to move to New York or la. And that's kind of the. Was my choice. So then I moved to New York. So, yeah, genuinely speaking, I. I don't even really. What was I even doing?

[Interviewer]

Well, I mean, some of it ends up working out because you end up on Uncometown Right. You described yourself. I think you even. You were even using the word a little bit. You were a nebbishy heel. And people also called you a bug. Comment sections on your videos, by the way, Wilds, not even yours. Anytime anyone talks to you, it's so funny. But I want to know, with Cometown, were you kind of always in on the joke from the beginning, or did it, like, take time to realize that your role was kind of this punching bag?

[Adam Friedland]

To a certain degree, there was no. It wasn't like, planned out. We didn't know you could make money from a podcast. I think I'd come down. It's just that Nick is the funniest guy ever, right? Like. Like, I think it was just like. And Stav is so. Stav is one of the funniest guys ever. And like, I was. I don't know, I was like, I was there for a lot of it. Like, it was like a friendship simulator. We thought it sucked. We were unhappy. We thought the show. I mean, I've only listened to it recently in the last year or two, because they. We didn't know how it was growing, but I guess there were all these, like, fans that were making clip compilations and it was like, the funniest podcast ever, I think, probably.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. Well, yeah, Nick is.

[Adam Friedland]

He was just unreal. I mean, it's like. Yeah, that's the thing is, like, yeah, we didn't know that it was going to be something that was. But that's profit.

[Narrator]

That's like the dream though, right?

[Interviewer]

It's like you just kind of like, sit down, you fuck around. All of a sudden, I believe what come towns pulling $100,000 a month on Patreon.

[Adam Friedland]

It didn't really feel that way. No. In fact, like, I got really lazy. I mean, Sav was the only one of us that was, like, still doing the road and still doing stand up. I just grew quite complacent because I was, like, doing a show for two hours a week and then I could earn a salary from that. So, you know, I also probably thought that, like. Like, you know, like, I didn't really know what I was going to do next, you know, like, that's the thing is. Yeah, I. I really just. I'm. I'm probably the luckiest in the world. Like, you know, like, somehow, like when Stavros SOS was like, exhausted from, like, doing his first special and then he, like, wanted to take time off and so he left the show. And then, you know, I told Nick, I was like, let's keep doing the Adam free or the. The cometown. I was like, we have a brand. And he's like, no, he's like, you got to listen to me. It's the Adam Free. Like, I mean, he was like, really the motivating factor. I think part of it was a joke too, was that, like, we built out a set and we publicly proclaimed we were going to be the make a television show. And like, I was like, by far the. The least beloved member of the show. We're gonna make me into a public intellectual. But, like, also part of it was like, I don't know. I don't like, you know, like, it just kind of happened. And then when I push came to shove, I had a set and a chairs, and I was. I was like, yeah, I'm gonna actually try to work hard at something and see if I see if I have any talent at anything at 35 years old, 34 probably. And yeah, so I feel like, I mean, I've been incredibly fortunate. It's just like these series of events kind of just fell into place for me. And. And fortunately, like, because of that, that's why I, like works genuinely so hard on the show because it's just like, you know, you, like opportunities, like, you know, are very few and far between random in life and like, especially in comedy is a terrible industry. And I know so many people, so many talented people that like, just aren't, you know, just like. It's like, it's not a meritocracy necessarily. A lot of the time. It's just. It's. It's is. It's. It could be, you know, but so I was like. Because of that, like, I just want to. I don't want to up the opportunity that I have. And so it's really motivated me and given me kind of a purpose where it's like, you know, like, it's just like I don't want to kind of look back on it and say, like, I. I, like, didn't appreciate the fact that I could do this now, but it's in the last year. I mean, I'm getting ahead of probably where you're heading in the interview, but like, the, you know, the. The profile of guest and the. The show has grown and it's. It's not calculated. It's just kind of happened. And I think maybe I'm like, I don't do something that's like, you know, red pill or something. So like one of the only games in town that, you know, I don't know Like, I think probably that has something to do with it where it's just like. It's a different thing from like the other, like the kind of more manosphere. I don't know these words. I'm just saying.

[Interviewer]

I was like, they become so normal and then we just like. I'm like the manosphere guys. Joe Rogan just say no.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. I mean, it's just like. Yeah. I'm like, well, apparently.

[Interviewer]

Oh God. I was. Yeah. When I was looking up there was. Was it the raging moderates one where they were like, they brought up the term the Joe Rogan of the left. I was like, I know this man fucking hates that. I know he hates that.

[Adam Friedland]

I mean, it would be good. I mean, if you're. I don't. I don't think of the shows of the left, though. I mean, I have my own.

[Narrator]

Right?

[Interviewer]

No, I don't think so.

[Adam Friedland]

But.

[Interviewer]

But I mean. But that's the thing is, I think even from what the cometown days, you guys talked about it like being this apolitical thing. I'm a big believer that there's no such thing as apolitical. Everything's political. It's just a matter of like how front facing it is or not. And that's like every aspect of life. But I guess kind of with that, I mean. And we are going to talk about the current version of the show, comparing season one or like when you launched and now I guess we call it season two. Initially, like, what level of creative involvement would you say? Was it like initially like a 50, 50 split between you and Nick, or was like one carrying more than the other?

[Adam Friedland]

Nick would do like the intros like we used to do these kind of produced kind of like. Yeah, like kind of. He'd write them out and we. We'd like shoot them and I would. My domain was the interview. That was kind of our involvement in the show. But I. When it comes to the interviews, like, if anything.

[Interviewer]

But he wasn't like puppeteering you around of like what your segment was?

[Adam Friedland]

No, no, I pretty much. I. Yeah, I. Autonomy on the interviews and it was really like, you know, that's kind of like. It was awesome. Yeah, like that I can like kind of figure out how to do something in public and hopefully I think I've gotten a little better. I think sometimes it feels like you can't really gauge progress because it's like in the production schedule we have like, we have a small team with three guys and you know, I think when we take a break, we took our first Break from the second season, whatever you call it in December. And then we kind of look around the room. We're like, oh, it's going pretty good, you know, But I think, like, pretty much the way the cycle works, and I think it's better this way because you can't really get up your own ass about things, but you just finish one thing and you have to start the next thing. You don't have time. So you don't.

[Interviewer]

Does that also, like, not give you time to appreciate, like, when something was really good?

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, but who wants to appre. I mean, but that's. That's where you get lost, right? Like, I think that that's actually, like, where things tend to suffer. I think you have to treat a job like you're an accountant going to the accountancy firm. And, like, literally, you just finish a. Because, like.

[Interviewer]

Is that an anti. Anti, like, comedian mind? Because is. Isn't a lot kind of. Or I guess how much is it, like, feeling it in the moment and, like, that's the reaction. Because, I mean, when you have the. The interviews, you don't necessarily have, like, the, you know, the crowd to really, like, feel okay, that worked. That didn't work. Versus going back and feeling it out.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, I think. No, I. I think that you have to put on horse blinders to everything, and you kind of have to just focus and like. Yeah, when you're, like, doing something, you. I talk about this a lot. Like, what I've found is, like, anytime you're making anything, you get really excited at first. You're like, this is a great idea. You try to do it, and you're like, I suck. I'm a idiot. I have no talent. I'm a fraud. And then you fight through that, and then you kind of get it together to a place where you're like, fine, just put it out there. And then you. You. If you dwell, first of all, if you. The second stage is how you get better. Right. Every time, if you dwell on anything, you have to just forget, like, the last thing. It's the only way you can remain productive. And that's just. Yeah, that's. That's what's. That's the only way that you can, like, do anything creative. I think I found.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. Something. Something you said, I believe, was to GQ was that the. The Adam Friedland show was generally. Maybe the first time I was like, I'm going to try as hard as I can on something because it's scary, right? It's really scary to try. I kind of Want to stay on that for a second? Because.

[Narrator]

Right.

[Interviewer]

You spent years on a show where the whole bit was like, we're just doing a thing, we're not trying. Is there like a moment where you, you decide it's finally safe to care?

[Adam Friedland]

It's. Yeah, it was kind of just. Yeah. Like I said before, like, when we had the set and the chairs, there was a guest. Nick gave me a really good piece of advice once where he was like, he's like, why do you have this affect? Cuz like, the first couple of interviews, I'm kind of like, kind of doing a thing. And I was like, oh, here comes some criticism. Great, go ahead. And then he was like, no, you're like a really nice guy. Like, and like, you make people feel good to be around. Like, you got to be more like that. And I, it kind of dawned on me that, like, when you do stand up, it's very one way. And like, the only interaction you have with the crowd is kind of like, what do you do for a living? And then they're like, I'm an accountant. And you're like, oh, you're a pedophile. And everyone laughs. You know, like, it's that it's, it's inherently kind of like, like adversarial. So I had to, like, kind of like, that's like, it's like dawn of me. I was like, oh, yeah, I have to figure out, like, what about me? Like, kind of can like, lend to doing this well. And yeah, then I like, yeah, I think that that's kind of. Yeah. Initially, like, I, I, I found that I'm like, you know, I'm gonna just see if I can do this good. Like, you know, and, and it's scary because if, like, I didn't, it'd be so embarrassing. I mean, I'm still embarrassing. I still embarrass myself constantly.

[Interviewer]

Just specific moments or just the whole.

[Adam Friedland]

Thing, like, what are you doing? I'm like, in an edit. I'm like, look at the hair. Like, look at right now. I mean, it's just like, what are you. Like, how are you sitting, you idiot. Like, it's just like, you know, like, we, you'll probably ask about it, but we had that the one time. Kind of like allowed the outside world in, and it kind of felt like pressure. Was that when we had that Richie Torres interview.

[Interviewer]

If you have disagreements with the Israeli.

[Adam Friedland]

Government, you should voice your criticism of the Israeli government. But there is no justification for intimidation.

[Interviewer]

Or, or harassment against American Jews.

[Adam Friedland]

I'm telling you as a Jew right now that we are receiving a lot more hate because of what the people with a flag that has a Jewish star on are doing to other people right now.

[Interviewer]

That might be.

[Adam Friedland]

And I'm telling you as a Jewish person, how painful it is for us to say. And it hurts my stomach to say this, and you're going to say, I disagree. I disagree that this is a genocide. And that hurts to say that a Jew could do that. It hurts because we grew up with learning about what hatred is. And the same year the state of Israel was established in 1948, the world saw the Holocaust, and they established standards. And I just wonder, like, there's this fixation with kids at a school and two examples of people at a restaurant that there was bangings.

[Interviewer]

Two examples.

[Adam Friedland]

I mean, there are surveys. Give me the. Read the EDL surveys on it. Because it's hard. It's hard for me to talk about this in public. I mean, you're. It's. You're being a dick. That's mean.

[Interviewer]

No, no, I'm not being me.

[Adam Friedland]

I'm just clear. It's an emotional topic. And I think the day before we had him in was that there was an article in the New Yorker, and it's a. And it kind of made me feel like I had a platform. And I was like, well, if I have a platform, I should, like, say something about, like, you know, what was going on in Gaza as a Jewish person. And that felt like pressure, you know? And for the most part, I've managed to kind of keep myself out of my own ass.

[Interviewer]

And, like, do you feel like you. You came out of the Torres situation in a much better position? Like, so it was. It was rewarding for opening up, or did it crush things? I know that you said, like, I've enjoyed the feedback. Except for my dad.

[Adam Friedland]

No, I mean, I never presented myself in that way publicly. Like, even when you were asking me about my mom, it's like, just not something like that I talk about publicly. So it feels like a little bit of a. This is. Feels weird.

[Interviewer]

But, yeah, that gets back to, like, how much of you is a character? Like, when you do the show, do you separate it from, like, who you are, who Adam is as, like, a person?

[Adam Friedland]

But, yeah, I'm kind of being myself. I'm doing it like a. You know, like, it's obviously a performance, but, like, it's more of a version of myself. Yeah, I think I. I think. Yeah. Like, but this is something silly, you know?

[Narrator]

Like, this is also a thing you've Spoken about before.

[Interviewer]

Right. I mean, I think I was. Even when I was looking around, there's. You appeared on i24 News back in 2018 talking about support for Israel declining among young American Jews. So, I mean, it does seem like this is.

[Adam Friedland]

I did tell myself then. Yeah, sorry I cut you off.

[Interviewer]

No, no. But that is something you've done.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, I did tell myself then that's the last time I'm going to try and sound smart in public. I was like, oh, God, that's so embarrassing.

[Interviewer]

How does. How does that. How does that come. How does that. How did that interview fit into what you were doing at the time? Or it was kind of like, I.

[Adam Friedland]

Don'T know, some guy like to cometown and he booked me on the.

[Interviewer]

I super love cometown. I'd love for you to come on TV and talk about Israel. Yeah, that's how it happens, I think.

[Adam Friedland]

Pretty much. Yeah. Yeah. I was like, oh, it's a TV credit. Maybe that's good for my wrist. Like, I really didn't know what I was doing. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

After that interview, I think I know you've publicly talked about, like, you. You had reservations about even releasing it. And so there's kind of two things I want to talk about there. One, was it ultimately your. It sounded like your non Jewish friends that were like, this is a great moment that really pushed you into releasing it. And I'll let you answer that while I remember the second part.

[Adam Friedland]

Well. Yeah, I mean, like editing that crap, just looking at that Jew on the screen. But I hate. I'm just looking at myself, you know.

[Interviewer]

Being weakness. Man. We gotta get away from it.

[Adam Friedland]

Whatever. That's. We're allowed to make fun of ourselves. Yeah. The interview like that. The end of that interview with Torres where I'm like talking to him, felt like I up the interview in the room. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Did their team try to stop the release at all?

[Adam Friedland]

They asked for, like, I forgot. They asked for some sort of like editorial input and I was like, no, you.

[Narrator]

No.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, that was like. I was like, you can't do that.

[Adam Friedland]

Well, I mean, like, it's just like after that, I mean, like he thought I was like play playing like planet A trap or something. But I was like, really? If anything, at the time, it felt terrible because I was like, usually I have like some sort of control over. I felt like I lost control of an interview. You know, I was talking too much. I was like talking about myself. Myself. It was. It became about me, you know, when that.

[Interviewer]

When that happens, I felt like I.

[Adam Friedland]

Was Doing a bad job, genuinely.

[Interviewer]

And when that happens, though, do you get that, like, burst of adrenaline? Like, all of a sudden it's like. Like, it's almost like falling out of you.

[Adam Friedland]

I think I probably just didn't get very good sleep the night before because I was nervous that I was gonna upset my dad. Genuinely. That. Really. That genuinely. Yeah, Yeah. I. I think it did dawn on me because that, like, New Yorker thing came out. I was like, you. You know, it's. I have a platform, you know, and doing something that's altruistic, like, as a comedian, like, purely altruistic. It feels cringe almost, right? Like, it's like, you don't want to be a blowhard, you know, you don't want to be like Bill Maher.

[Interviewer]

But also, I mean, if there's. I was like, I'm trying to. I'm trying to remember the timelines here, but there is. There was a pocket of time where it felt like that could happen. It felt like it was in the pocket of time where you even had the pod save guys going, like, this is. We're seeing a genocide play out. Like, and it's like, oh, shit, the pod save. And they took a lot of heat for. For talking about what was happening with Israel in Gaza. So it felt like there was a. Very obviously, it was a very specific moment.

[Adam Friedland]

I think I. I think I didn't even know that, but good for them. I mean, like, I. I genuinely, for me, it was like Jewish people that were presented, like, as, you know, we're told that we have to protect Israel and that it's going to avoid another Holocaust. And that's the narrative that we believe in our community. And. And then now I think my generation is kind of, you know, my. I've said this before. My parents were born, like, my dad was born five years after. Right. It scared the. Out of people. And that was like, a very scary concept. And they were said to. This is their safeguard against that. This is like a place you could go if. If they tried to do another Holocaust. You know, it's a safety net and stuff. And it made a big impression. I. I think that you can't square it with what you're seeing in Gaza then. Right. Like, if you're, like, making a country to avoid a genocide, then wouldn't this undermine the very thesis of that? Right. And beyond that, like, you know, like, that Nelson Mandela thing I said earlier, like, there was always a kind of a cool notion of, like, that we, like, understood what hatred was and, like, prejudice was and that Jewish people were like, very active in the civil rights movement in America. And like, kind of. I was always thought that was cool, you know, and as a kid. And then when it comes. When it came to this subject, like, we were told that if you speak out against it, you're being anti Semitic. And it's just like, it's destroys the definition of the word anti Semitism. I mean, like, it just like it completely mutates it. And it's important that Jews show solidarity. I think, like, we have this kind of code of silence a lot of the time, even if you're opposed to it in public. But for me, seeing myself like in the edit, I was just like, shut up, dude. Yeah, it was like, he's being histrionic Jewish. Like, this is exactly what we don't want to act like in public, you know, But. But no, I. Once it came out, obviously it. I. A lot of people in Palestinians and Jewish people reached out to me and told me that they appreciated that. And that meant a lot, obviously.

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Adam Friedland]

But at the time, it was pretty miserable. Kind of like being like, should I. I'm at social.

[Interviewer]

I mean, it's connected to that, but it's also like, it's bigger. I really enjoy your interview style because it is very. It's very disarming. I think that's also very important. With my least favorite interview guest is a politician that actually has their, like, points that they want to get down because then they'll like, filibuster you and just answer the question that you didn't ask them. But I mean, do you. I don't know. I mean, it feels like you have this ability to kind of like, keep people confused or off balance. And so, I mean, when did you kind of realize you had the ability to do that and maybe even that. I would say being underestimated was kind of a superpower in some ways.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, I mean, like, if you. I think I just tend to like, self deprecate. So I'm like, listen, I'm a schmo. Like, like, you don't. You don't really need to. You know, you could let your guard down a little bit. And I think because of that, the people tend to open up more. But, you know, it's. It's something that comes naturally to me. It's not so calculated. I think it's just probably something I've done my whole life. And it's just wicked aspect of my personality that like, that kind of isn't like just like, I don't like, think of it just as h happens. And it kind of. That's how I've been able to like, also, I probably have just an over inflated opinion of myself. And so I meet someone that's very famous or, you know, powerful, and I'm like, what's up, dude? Like, you like dogs or cat? You know, like, I'm just like. I'm like, I don't. I'm not really, like, I guess I. I don't tend to, like, get like, very like. The only person I was ever, like, really nervous for was when I had the rapper Jay to kiss on the show. I was like, I hope. I was like, I. I used to.

[Interviewer]

Because you have that childhood connection.

[Adam Friedland]

I was like, yeah. I used to copy the way he talked around other Jewish guys. I think I came clean to him. I was like, listen, me and Jewish guys used to close the door, lock it, and then just put on throwback jerseys and pretty much just act like you. And he's. I just have to come clean about that. And he's like, that's cool. And I'm like, thank.

[Interviewer]

It's okay. So actually, okay, I'm. I'm very interested in this because I feel like, you know, obviously growing up, black culture was essentially like the. The culture that everyone tried to.

[Adam Friedland]

Are you around my age?

[Interviewer]

I'm 40. I don't know how. You're 35.

[Adam Friedland]

We're the same age.

[Interviewer]

Oh, 38. Oh, okay.

[Narrator]

Hey, I'll get you back to the pod in just a minute.

[Interviewer]

But first, let me say, you know.

[Narrator]

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[Interviewer]

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[Narrator]

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[Adam Friedland]

How's your stream? 40 years old. What's it like? Solid. Solid. But I have a lot of friends.

[Interviewer]

A lot of friends in the middle of the night. But I'm good.

[Adam Friedland]

I. I feel like, oh, thank God.

[Interviewer]

I feel. I'm. I'm.

[Narrator]

I don't know.

[Interviewer]

I feel like that's. It's probably an inevitability, right? It's. It's around the corner.

[Adam Friedland]

We're not bald.

[Interviewer]

I'm hoping not.

[Narrator]

I got that going for me.

[Adam Friedland]

We got extreme kind of solid. Yeah, no, thank God. I mean, like. Yeah, I need enough that. Okay, back to hip hop.

[Interviewer]

No, I was gonna ask. I was like, is it true, I've heard this from a few people, that black culture is super, super, super into or like, Jewish culture or Jewish people super embrace, like, hip hop. Is that true or no?

[Adam Friedland]

As far as young people, I mean, like, speak.

[Narrator]

Speak on behalf of all Jewish people.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. I mean, Benjamin Netanyahu is a big, big fan of future, of course. And then you have Woody Allen, who's a massive fan of Young Thug. Yeah. No, I mean, I think it's just when we were in school. You graduated 2003. High school, 2005.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, I think so. So, yeah, I don't even remember until you said it. Cool music.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. I mean, like, I remember Kanye west came out when I was, like, in junior.

[Interviewer]

Oh, man.

[Adam Friedland]

And I was like. That, for me, was like, oh, this guy, like, wears, like, polo shirt. Like, my mom gets me at, like, Nordstrom's.

[Interviewer]

You know, I like that. That was like, the thing. You're like, can you believe there was this guy?

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, he was like, the first guy that was like. He wasn't like. Did you see the documentary on Netflix, the genius documentary?

[Interviewer]

No. I've seen clips. I was like, oh, it's really.

[Adam Friedland]

We'll see the. The beginning is, like, the first episode. It's three parts. The first one and a half is like. He's just this, like, exuber. Like, he was the best at making the music. And he was like, I want to be a rapper. Like. And they're like, you're not a criminal. They're like, you could never be a rapper. Like, you're a nerd. And he's like, he wouldn't take no for an answer. And they're like, a nerd could never be a rapper. Like, he was the. Like, they're like, you're a. Yeah, you're a gay nerd, and you can't be a rapper. And he was like, I want to be a rapper. And then I was like, there's a gay nerd now. Like, me. We're like, this means so much. This is representation. No, it sounds like.

[Interviewer]

It sounds like you were cutting the. The intro for, like, the Kanye west movie was like, a gay nerd could never be a rapper. It's like.

[Adam Friedland]

And he's like. And. Until he. Yeah, but no, he was the guy that made, like, the best beats. I mean, he made like a. But like, I don't know if you listen to rap growing up, but he made, like, a bunch of the beats on the. The Blueprint, the Jay Z album.

[Interviewer]

But I'm one of those. That was like. I really loved Eminem. That was like. That was. I was like. It gave me a place. Anger.

[Adam Friedland]

Sixth grade, listening to Kim.

[Interviewer]

No.

[Adam Friedland]

Remember the first album, he had this song about just violently killing his wife. And I remember in sixth grade, I was like, no, this is scaring me. I just. The last episode of the Adam Freeland show, it actually came up because I had this musician. MJ Linderman is really good. Really good musician. We were both talking about, like. Yeah. When we were, like, kids, I was like. I was like, this is. I don't know. My parents would be upset about. Yeah. Yeah. He was really just like, I want to. Yeah, I. I remember that. I. My dad. I was at Barnes and Noble, and my dad was about to buy the CD of the first Eminem cd, and it had Parental advisory. And the guy at the register was like, don't buy this for your kid. And I was like, you. So then I got. So that my dad. So that I got Enema of the state, the Blink 182 album instead. And then. Okay, my grandma came into town, and then I took her. I took. Made her take me to Barnes and Nobles. And finally we didn't have some narc. Whatever. Loser. No, finally. Then I tricked my grandma into getting me it for me.

[Interviewer]

I love that.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. I was like, yeah. Eminem was. It was. It was funny because he was like, sit. He was. It was, like, cartoonish. So it was, like, kind of made for, like, little kids in a lot of ways. Like the.

[Interviewer]

Yeah, but for me, I was like.

[Adam Friedland]

Videos were like, right.

[Interviewer]

Like, well, you're thinking of that. I was like. I just had crazy Mommy issues. And so I was like, this guy gets me. I want to murder everyone as a child.

[Adam Friedland]

Have, like, borderline personality disorders. Munchausen by proxy or something. Livia.

[Interviewer]

I'll just say, oh, my God, I'm doing that.

[Adam Friedland]

So you are doing that.

[Interviewer]

That.

[Narrator]

Look at you.

[Adam Friedland]

That you're trying to not be Italian, but you're. You are Italian. You're so embarrassed of us. Listen, we can't. Of us. Because the Met. You're trying to act like the Metagon. Listen, you're. You're complaining about your mother. That's the one thing that the. The Jews and the. And the Italians, we're all obsessed with our mothers.

[Interviewer]

Oh. See, I was thinking of the sense of like. Like, she. She was kind of at a 9 out of 10 out of bad mom. But I'm. I'm doing the thing where I'm like.

[Narrator]

So the thing with my mom about.

[Interviewer]

That time period is like, I try. And I'm still trying to excuse. I hate it. You. You know, Adam.

[Adam Friedland]

No, no. Was she.

[Interviewer]

You Sounds like you actually had a great.

[Adam Friedland]

I had the only Jewish mother, I think, ever that wasn't Joseph Stalin.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

All my friends. Moms were like. Like stressful, like. Yeah, I. I don't know how I lucked out. She was the only one that was good. My friend's moms would just be like, you're killing me. You know? Like, you're just like. Yeah, like. Yeah, just literally, just. My friend's moms were literally just throwing 2 million bodies at Hitler. It's at Leningrad during the Russian winter.

[Interviewer]

Do you.

[Adam Friedland]

Does your. Does your dad watch your show? He likes the show a lot, but also very close to my dad.

[Interviewer]

What did he think of the. Yeah, what did he think about the. The Chris Cuomo Dua Lipa moment?

[Adam Friedland]

I like Dua Lipa.

[Interviewer]

Me too. Yeah, me too. My daughter is.

[Adam Friedland]

I would let her and she would.

[Interviewer]

Sing Dua Lipa, and I love what she does.

[Adam Friedland]

I don't know her.

[Narrator]

So people will say, oh, no, too sexy.

[Adam Friedland]

Objectifies.

[Interviewer]

But I'm telling you, I watched my daughter and her kind of resonating with the vibe, you know, and the empowerment principle of it.

[Adam Friedland]

I don't know the song.

[Interviewer]

I loved it.

[Adam Friedland]

I would let her shit in my mouth. Where does that come from?

[Interviewer]

Seriously, where does it come from?

[Adam Friedland]

I don't know. It just came out. Where?

[Interviewer]

Where? Like, did you see that somewhere or.

[Adam Friedland]

It wouldn't even be pleasant if she did that.

[Interviewer]

It absolutely would not be pleasant.

[Adam Friedland]

I'm just saying I would. I would do the worst thing ever to be with her. I think he thought it was probably fun. I was wearing a suit like that.

[Interviewer]

He liked that. He liked that you were. But I was going to bring that up because when. When you were talking about, like, not being calculated versus kind of riffing, like, is that just something that just, like, blah pops out into your head or you were like this.

[Adam Friedland]

I kind of, like, yeah, that kind of came out. But then I kind of also just. Just hammed it up because, like, I knew, you know, like, we're. That interview was a lot of, like, just goofing around. So, like, I knew that that would kind of get him off. Off of his.

[Interviewer]

Just goofing with.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, I knew that that would, like, be like. He'd be like, what the. And I'm like, sorry, dude, I apologize. You defended the Iraq war, so I. I'm better.

[Interviewer]

I was. I will say my, My favorite. My favorite bit from that podcast. He's like, why.

[Narrator]

Why are you using such a strong word, like hate?

[Interviewer]

And you're like, because of all the people, though.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, I hated Bush when I was a kid. Yeah. Because he killed a million people. Yeah. I think it's like, that's another thing that you could do that I found. Like, that is just foreign to, like, going back to the Torres thing effectively. Like, I'm just saying a baby shouldn't get blown up. Like, thinking within the context of politics in D.C. like, a. A position that one could hold in a debate is that babies should get blown up, which is, like, not the real world. So, like, they're obviously like. If you approach it just like, you're. I'm from the real world. Yeah. It's a very insular world that, like, people, like, a lot of these people that I talk to come from. And if you approach it as like, hey, I'm just being a regular guy, and, you know, it's. It tends to, like, be effective because they're oftentimes not approached with. With that, you know, and so. So that's kind of. Yeah, I've like, I feel like I, I. It's like one of the ways that I. Whatever. I hate talking about the.

[Interviewer]

You hate talking about what?

[Adam Friedland]

My own. There's one of the. One of. One of the ten. Yourself of the Adam Freelance. Yeah. Just. Yeah, no, I mean, that's. It's kind of obviously like. Yeah. Like, I think.

[Interviewer]

Is that why. Is that. Is that why you talk to other.

[Adam Friedland]

People for a living or. No, it's not. Not destiny. A clavicular. Clavicular thing.

[Narrator]

Right.

[Adam Friedland]

I had Destiny on the show also, but there he's another Internet person. To me, that's like another guy, you know, to me that those are both Internet people, you know, like, they're so the same people.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[Adam Friedland]

Like when you're a kid, the looks maxing thing, when you're a kid, you could get up. Like we, we knew kids that got into were. That got into punk or something. Right. But you're trying to find your thing. Obviously. That's a very kid thing, I think nowadays. Like, what did that mean for us? For kids we knew in school? It meant that fucking. You go to the mall, you put a couple safety pins on some crap, you're you, you spike, you do like a liberty spikes or some stupid hairstyle. You may be like kiss girls and boys. Like that's the extent to which you could punk. Right. I think now kids can get obsessed with something or get into something and can be completely immersed 24 hours a day on the phone. Right. So, so effectively like it, it frames a worldview, I think. And, and that, yeah, that's, that's what I'm finding. So. So it's just like to them, people that are in insular worlds, whether it be DC or looks maxing, their worldview is very framed by something that isn't. Doesn't exist outside of that, you know. And yeah, it's like a. So you approach it that way. So instead of approaching it like, I know like I'm. I think this is terror. Like, people are like, what I'm seeing now because I'm doing research for this thing, people are like terrified of like, oh, this is the scariest thing. And I'm like, he's a 19 year old. Like, you know, it's, it's. When I was 19, I sucked. Like, you know, like, fine, maybe hopefully one day I'll look back on it and be like, that sucked. But you know, a little bit it's just like we get. I think people get up in arms about things that a little bit everything is. Makes people just like, yeah, well, no.

[Interviewer]

I mean, I think this is a. I'm gonna say that it's a credit. I think there's a constant debate of if it's a credit or it's something that's bad. But I feel like you give everyone a certain amount of grace. You had, what was it? Steiny from the Nelk Boys on. And you, you know, you treated him. The New Yorker put out a piece that you treated him as a person worthy of intellectual interrogation, not a frat bro. Or an idiot. Absolutely. But then also, you know, at the same time, you know, but also you've talked about how podcasters like the Nelk boys have platformed far right figures with the. I think the quote is the rigor of school children asking their friend's dad what they do for work. And so obviously, you see, I think you think of what you're doing as something different.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

I mean, and so, I mean, where do you think the responsibility lands for whether it's you or anyone else in this, this, this.

[Adam Friedland]

Okay, the other thing is this, right? Like, like, why, like, why the. Like, are people mad at the Nelk boys instead of, like, do we not ask the question of, like, why is Benjamin Netanyahu going on the full send podcast to promote the genocide? Like, that. That is the absurd thing. It's not like, you know, like, and people are like, mad at Andrew Schultz. I guess, like, now he's seeing the truth. Like, you know, but it's like, no, like, power. Like, the Republicans just found that these had. Were massive platforms and they took advantage of them better. But it's just like, it's. I don't think it's Andrew Schultz's fault or the Nelk boy's fault that, like, I don't think. I think that instead, like, what's weird is that, like, it used to be Meet the Press maybe, and now it's like BB's going on a chugging podcast and like, yeah, like, clubbing and chugging.

[Interviewer]

But there could be. I mean, there can be a certain duality. I mean, I have another podcast where we constantly have different opinions on, like, allowing people grace to kind of come back and go, like, okay, I had a. That was a bad take, or that was a bad opinion, or that was a bad choice. I'm someone that's trying to, like, leave the door open.

[Adam Friedland]

Well, like, what's the. Give me an example.

[Interviewer]

You push people away.

[Adam Friedland]

Like, what would.

[Interviewer]

So I mean, to your point of, like, when people were like, oh, fuck Andrew Schultz, and I'm like, for having Trump on. Right? Because. Well, because. But that's the thing. So I think when you're. When you're saying there are people that are angry, I think I can see multiple arguments. I think there is people that are angry because not just that they platformed, but that it was kind of just cheerleading and supporting and promoting stuff and them kind of playing dumb to the idea of, like, that there was something else nefarious at play or that he was going to do the things he was publicly Saying he was going to do. So I think it's that sort of, that sort of thing, if that makes sense.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, but like, what about the nefariousness is not. Is coming from the people with power that are doing terrible things. Right.

[Interviewer]

But I'm not saying that it's just one thing. It's not just one thing. There can be a duality there. There can be like, well, obviously what Netanyahu is doing is the bigger issue. And then I think you can understand that people have an anger or then an emerging distrust of this person that I look to as maybe as like some of my funny hahas or even someone that I saw as like a semi interviewer didn't pose any real questions and didn't do job.

[Adam Friedland]

He's a comic. I mean like that's society should. Norm MacDonald has a really good quote where you said, like people say comics are modern day philosophers and that's really offensive to modern day philosophers. Like they're real mod. Like the problem is like the size of the platform like eclipses that of, you know, Rogan's getting 10 million people for every million that Anderson Cooper is probably getting. Right. Like, that's why.

[Interviewer]

But I think, I think people are wanting more of what you do in your interviews and they're. Because I think you are hitting a certain standard. Do you not see it that way?

[Adam Friedland]

That's. Then they should watch my show. I mean, like, I don't know. I'm not. Well, the other thing is this is like I deliberately try to not in the one time I actually like did this was with Torres because I studied Middle Eastern politics, I lived in Israel, I'm Jewish and I felt like I could speak from a position of, of authority or knowledge about something. But like I could very easily when I have an interviewer, when I have a guest, right. Like do the homework and then present myself as like, oh, you know, like, what about this House resolution omnibus pork barrel? You know, I could do that, but it's, it's not my place, right. So instead I have to find a way to speak to someone in a way where I'm not presenting myself as an expert. Like, it drove me nuts. When I do see comics, right, that feel like they have a right to speak from a position of authority on crap that we don't qualify. We, we talk about boners and stuff. Like, it's just like, like we're not like public.

[Interviewer]

You are using a very big, I think tent here because there are a number of these comics that do to, to kind of what you're hitting on here present themselves as these, these high end intellectuals and that's why they feel comfortable in these spaces.

[Adam Friedland]

When that drives me.

[Interviewer]

They're just getting the, that drives me nuts.

[Adam Friedland]

And, but it's like, I can't, it's the Internet. I can't control anyone else. But like, on my end I try to be responsible and like, so if I don't, I'm not going to talk about, you know, I had Lena Khan, who's the head of the ftc, on the show. I'm not going to talk like as if I'm an expert on antitrust law. Right. Like, I could look things up and I could like, instead, you kind of have to find a way to ask someone a question that's more general. So I've, if I have a politician, like for instance, I use this example. But like, I'll ask them, hey, no one likes the government. No one trusts the government these days. Why do you want to be in the government? Right. You know, can it be fixed?

[Interviewer]

Right.

[Adam Friedland]

Like, these are also questions that aren't talking point answers. So you get more interesting answers that way, I find. So instead of like, I have to like, just be authentic to what I'm qualified and capable of doing. Right. And so, but that's, that's a personal choice. I could do any. I mean, I could, I could say anything because it's the computer, right? And that's the kind of, that's, I think probably the right's advantage online is that like progressives, there's a ton of things you can't say. And, and you know, they've been adopted. The right, the right has used the computer much better because you could say anything, you could lie, you could do a slur, you could, you could say anything you want. And I think that that incubates kind of and you know, provides a platform that is much more naturally useful for them. And now that I'm seeing like Democrats trying to adopt this as a platform, it's like you have this awkward. Now they're saying the F word. Yeah, a lot of, a lot of it.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. I know you've talked about this where it's like, yeah, you notice that Gavin, their way of being different is fuck.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, fuck.

[Interviewer]

But Gavin, Gavin, for me, I mean, I've talked about this a little bit. I was like, I was like the energy from him as a person and the energy of him when he has Republicans on his podcast and the energy of the people running his social media are drastically different. And it's like, you get whiplash at how, like, how much he'll bend. Bend over backwards to be like, oh, I'm playing ball on his podcast. And then his social handles with his name right next to it is like, go fuck yourself. And, like, see, I didn't know that.

[Adam Friedland]

And I feel great. I feel like you're gonna die sooner because, you know all that.

[Interviewer]

Oh. I mean, when you were talking about I haven't lost my hair yet, I'm like, it's gonna happen. I'm surprised it's gonna gray first.

[Adam Friedland]

No, no, I mean, genuinely, it's. That's the fun thing is that, like, I kind of just do the research and. And then I kind of approach, I guess, that way, because a lot of the time, like, yeah, I don't. I didn't know what the Nelk boys were. And I didn't know. I didn't know who Destiny was. I will say I kind of knew who Richie Torres was from Twitter because he was like, you know, sure. But, like, you know, I pay, like a 22 year old to do all the social media. It's like, I wouldn't be online. Yeah, right. Like, I wouldn't be online if this wasn't my job. Saying, yeah, like, if.

[Narrator]

Absolutely.

[Adam Friedland]

If I was making zero dollars. Right. Like, most people are making zero dollars and they're like, like, like clocking in. Like, they're, like, punching their time card. And to me, that's, like, stressful. I'm like, why? Why?

[Interviewer]

Well, I remember earlier. Earlier days of the Internet, when people were on, I would be very. I would be talking to someone, I would be very confused why they were doing things, because I was like, but it's not. You're not, like. It's not like a show. It's not like an audience. What are you. Why are you doing it? Because I've been doing this for about 20 years. And so I understood why I did it, but I was like, but it is very stressful. It's very crazy. It's a very weird thing to do. And so it made very. It was why I ended up connecting to a lot of Bo Burnham's comedy, because he. I think he was very early to realize that everyone was gonna be an entertainer. Everyone was gonna be a presenter of some way, at least in their own mind. And that's kind of the society we live in.

[Adam Friedland]

Everyone's like a press secretary. Everyone's the press secretary of Adam. My statement on the East Wing of the White House. Here's my statement. It's just. Shut up. Who Cares. Obviously, Trump's gonna build some gold. Crap. It's Trump. It's a shame. We elected him twice.

[Interviewer]

Okay, so now we're gonna, now we're gonna get into, like, the nitty gritty. I was like, I. One thing that does bug me is when everyone treats every single thing at the same level. Like when I think you've talked about it to a certain degree, when they treat, like, what was happening in the streets of Minneapolis at the same level of the, the White House construction. Like, different levels, guys, it's guys. Different level thing.

[Adam Friedland]

Well, the computer makes people feel terrible, right? And a lot of it, A lot of the most successful content from what I'm seeing is just people are being mean to each other and arguing. I mean, hopefully the objective is like, if I can.

[Interviewer]

Why. That's why I'm going to call this podcast the Adam Friedland Problem.

[Adam Friedland]

No, you say to say Adam Freeland destroyed. Yeah, get, like, gets. Yeah, yeah.

[Interviewer]

Oh, yeah.

[Narrator]

Fraud.

[Adam Friedland]

And then like two, like, soy faces. Like, like this. And then like, it says fraud. Question mark. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Liar, question mark. Yeah. Epstein connection. Question mark. Yeah, no, but, no, I think the, the computer makes people feel terrible and the, like, you know, I, I, I've seen.

[Interviewer]

Well, let's talk.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, go ahead.

[Interviewer]

Let's talk about something.

[Adam Friedland]

No, no, I mean, for me personally, it's just like, I feel quite fortunate that I, I don't have enough time to, to consume these kind of things. Like, it's, Yeah, I got, My sister called me about the east wing of the White House, and I was like, who the cares? I, I didn't even. Did you. I didn't even know they had an east. Okay, great. I just, I thought they just had the west wing. Oh, the east. Okay, cool. I, I assume they would have two. Yeah, that makes sense. But it's just like, literally there are concentration camps in America right now, and to some, to some extent, every, like, Taylor Swift is engendering as much kind of like, just outrage that as, as, you know, as someone getting shot in the head on, on camera in Minneapolis, you know.

[Interviewer]

Oh, so you're saying that every, Everything.

[Adam Friedland]

Everything is out of 10.

[Interviewer]

Everything is like, every reaction to everything?

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Like, if anything, Taylor Swift is politics to people, you know, like, or like liking a band is, is, is like you're, you're part of it. Like a community. Like, it's like everyone's acting like everything is Les Miserables. Like, everyone's, everyone's Jean Valjean about everything. It's just like, can we just Just we're being embarrassing. You're being a loser, everyone. This is what got me called a loser.

[Interviewer]

So let's. But, yeah, this is what got me called a loser all those years ago. And now it's part of my job.

[Adam Friedland]

Well, I try not to do that. I try to just when I have a guest. Actually, the main objective of the show is just to see what kind of guy it is. You know, it's like we, especially when people are famous, we feel like we have all these opinions and then sometimes like, okay, what kind of person is it? And the prep process is really fun because you have to account for someone's, you know, personality that you've never met. And, yeah, that's, that's like, you feel like you're an FBI profiler and stuff. And, like, you know, I feel like I'm hunting bin Laden basically every week.

[Interviewer]

I'm on that game now. I want to talk about a positive thing, but it also connects to you, like, your personality. You're engaged now, right? You have a sense, you have a life that is very different.

[Adam Friedland]

I feel like I'm on the View right now. Yes, I am. Woo. Yeah. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Whoopi's gonna come out here in a second.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Does the person that you're becoming, does it, does it feel like a continuous growth, right, of, like, who you've been and you growing? Or do you feel like there was a break, like you had a pivot?

[Narrator]

You're different.

[Interviewer]

You're like a completely different guy.

[Adam Friedland]

I think everyone just grows, right? I mean, I don't know, but I was like, yeah, I had to. Cause, like, when you're online, you're, like, not used to people knowing who you are. Once people know who you are, you have to, like, learn how to deal with that. And so I, you know, I, I, I figured out that I have to kind of, like, have a distinction, I think. Yeah. Like, I'm, I don't, like, have. Yeah. My, My girlfriend. Barely. Fiance. We don't say French crap in this house. Okay. My girlfriend, she, like, she barely. I mean, she barely. She doesn't even know I'm a success. I mean, she, like, she talks to me like I'm unemployed.

[Interviewer]

She doesn't know what I do for a job.

[Adam Friedland]

I mean, she, when we met, we met, like, through friends, and she doesn't know. Listen to podcasts. She's not a loser. No, she's cool. I mean, like, she's. But it's like, yeah, my, I don't like my personal life. I just, like, I I kind of keep some separation there that I, you know. Yeah. Because it's just like a lot of people, I think that's healthy when they're online. Everything is just being performed and it's repulsive.

[Interviewer]

Those are in my experience. When I had a much older podcast where I was mainly interviewing kind of like YouTubers and creators, those were my least favorite people. Because I was like, I can't learn anything about you. Like, I was like, the only thing I might learn is that you're maybe living a lie because it doesn't match up with everything that you're sharing.

[Adam Friedland]

20 those guys have to be on the inside just crumbling. I mean, like.

[Interviewer]

Well, here's the thing.

[Narrator]

It can be very exciting.

[Interviewer]

I think for the first month, maybe even the first year. And then it's like, then your life and your family is like this product.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah. It's disgusting.

[Interviewer]

We hate them.

[Adam Friedland]

It's just like, you know, people love that. I mean, it's good business.

[Interviewer]

Adam, the last question I am going to ask you before I let you go, sir. And I don't even know if you'll answer this. This is, this is a crazy one.

[Adam Friedland]

Who is your.

[Interviewer]

Has been your favorite person to interview and who has been your least. Who is your DJ Khaled on Hot Ones? If you have.

[Adam Friedland]

I loved. I loved Richard Kind was lovely. Chet. I loved having Chet. Chet Hanks also. It just felt like I was like, everyone was like, you know, he had an opportunity to like talk about like, you know, when he was a kid, he went to one of those wilderness things and so felt like, you know, people are like, oh, that's the patois guy. And like it's a little bit. It's a human being. So that felt like. That felt good. And who else did I like? I mean there's typically, I don't know, sometimes I think those two. I'm thinking now there had to have been others. But yeah, I, I enjoyed those and they were really fun. And know it's a person you've never met. It's a blast. And yeah.

[Interviewer]

And is the. The person that would be the least would be like an unreleased episode or is it something that's gone.

[Adam Friedland]

Mom, Donnie. Mom, Donnie. Cuz he Sharia law. The second after the interview ended, he started Sharia law. And I didn't. He. I thought he was Jewish. I thought he was named after the Adam Sandler movie. This all. I got hoodwinked by the, by the mayor. No, he's. I loved. I really enjoyed meeting him. He's. He's a. He's actually like, a genuinely lovely person, I must say.

[Interviewer]

He seems to be at this. This place where it's like, Fox News is still going to do the Fox News thing and. And try and be like, ah, he's different. But then I have seen a number of people going like, okay, he seems.

[Adam Friedland]

Yeah, he's like a guy around our age that likes, like, hip hop and we like the same soccer team. We're, like, freaks about it. And, yeah, I. I think genuinely, it was like, it dawned on me that's the first person that's like a millennial that kind of, like, is, like, ascending in power, like, in a meaningful way.

[Interviewer]

I was like, what's him? And what. There's been a lot of talk more and more about ass off. Oh, well done.

[Adam Friedland]

We all know that. He was all like, can we have more homework? Like, Zoron was. He seemed, like, chill. Yeah. Some of the worst. I mean, like, the primary. I know we're getting off topic, but, like, it got like. It was Islamophobic. I mean, like, they were, like, making him out to be Osama bin Laden. And some of, like, the worst Jewish guys I grew up with just like, I. I mean, I. They like, text me. They're like, while I still disagree with his socialism, he seems actually kind of chill. And I was like, if I could convince those guys who thought that, like, like, literally ISIS was becoming the mayor, then that's a good thing.

[Interviewer]

Probably.

[Adam Friedland]

I could. Like, if. If a person could, like, display that they're who they are as a person on the show, then it's probably a good thing. It's worthwhile, but.

[Interviewer]

Adam, thank you so much for the time, sir. I'm going to give you back your day. I'm very excited to see.

[Adam Friedland]

I want to keep hanging out.

[Interviewer]

Your clavicular interview, I thought.

[Adam Friedland]

I don't know.

[Interviewer]

No, I have. I have a second job. That's. That's where we are in this economy. Philip DeFranco needs three jobs. We.

[Adam Friedland]

We're so lucky we get to.

[Interviewer]

I know. I'm the victim here.

[Adam Friedland]

Make money from this.

[Interviewer]

I know. I can't believe there was a time where I was like, I'm gonna be a doctor. No, podcaster. That's all you're smart enough to do. That's because there's no requirement. I know.

[Adam Friedland]

I spoke over you.

[Interviewer]

What's wrong with that?

[Adam Friedland]

It makes. It gives me nightmares. It's like, what am I? I'm like a character in an Amazon original series. He's a podcaster, and he lives in Brooklyn. Yeah, and his hair is messy. I'm a cliche. Yeah.